Argo Blockchain raises crypto mining capacity by 75%, names new CEO

Argo Blockchain has revealed that it’s set to increase its mining capacity by 75% in the coming week. The cloud mining company received over 3,600 Bitmain Antminer machines which are currently under installation and are expected to be operational by January 10.

Argo, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, revealed that it had taken delivery of 3,616 Antminer T17 machines which it’s currently installing. The new machines will bring in an additional 159 petahash of mining power. This is a 75% increase from the company’s existing installed base of mining machines.

The company intends to have 17,000 machines in operation by the first quarter of this year, it revealed in a press release. The machines will produce 640 petahash of mining power, a 204% increase from its current capacity. It has already ordered the remaining 6,384 machines and it expects they’ll be delivered in batches this month.

Argo revealed that it had ordered additional Antminer T17 machines in October. This was a shift from an earlier report claiming that the company would stick to Antminer S17. At the time, the company stated that the new machines would allow it to lower the rate for its mining activities from $13.09 million to $9.51 million.

Argo Blockchain also unveiled Peter Wall as its new CEO. Wall was among the founders of the company and has been serving as its vice president of operations. Based in Ottawa, Canada, Wall has been deeply involved in crypto mining. Besides Argo, he is also the president of Vernon Blockchain, a crypto mining company based in Canada.

Mike Edwards, the company’s executive chairman welcomed Wall, stating, “I am delighted to welcome Peter as our new chief executive officer. His knowledge of Argo and his broad and deep experience in cryptomining will serve the Company well as it moves into its next phase of growth.”

Argo has continued growing, even as other miners have decried the rise in mining difficulty. Wall attributes this to the company’s reliance on the latest miners. In an interview with CoinGeek, he stated, “As the majority of our machines are the latest generation of miners, the increase in mining difficulty hasn’t affected us nearly as much as other miners who are using older generations of machines in regards to mining efficiency.”